The subject matter herein relates generally to a system for electrically and mechanically interconnecting printed circuit boards.
Electrical connectors mechanically and electrically interconnect circuit boards and other electrical components. An electrical connector is typically mounted to a circuit board and mated to a mating connector, which may be board-mounted or cable-mounted. Typically, an electrical connector includes a main housing that retains a plurality of electrical contacts that electrically and mechanically connect to conductive vias, traces, or the like on or within a printed circuit board. The circuit board and the electrical connectors are mounted within an electronic device at a particular location.
In various systems, multiple circuit boards are configured to communicate with one another. In some configurations, the circuit boards are parallel daughter circuit boards that connect to an orthogonal back-plane. In other configurations, the parallel circuit boards are connected to one another through stacking connectors. Feed-through connectors are examples of stacking connectors that house long contacts that attach to one side of a printed circuit board, and protrude out of an opposing side of the printed circuit board. In general, the contacts are relatively long and typically require that the contact protrusion be dimensioned to fit through a plated through-hole within the printed circuit board. For example, in order to provide a connection through a printed circuit board, each contact is formed of a unitary construction that passes through the printed circuit board such that one mating end extends out of a surface of the printed circuit board, while an opposite mating end extends out of an opposite surface of the printed circuit board. One mating end is then positioned within a first connector housing, while the other mating end is then positioned within a second connector housing. However, the connector contacts typically need to be large and long enough to accommodate the long distances between boards, thereby limiting the types of connectors that may be used with such a system. Moreover, it has been found that the positions of the long contacts within the connector housings and/or at mating interfaces may shift or otherwise not maintain proper positioning. For example, the long contacts may be susceptible to bending, warping, or the like when the printed circuit board is mated with the connector housings.